Kim O'Hara wrote:I've always thought of walking meditation as the 'optional extra' - mostly as a break from the sitting, for those who need one. Maybe I've always been wrong,though.

Kim

Actually, walking meditation can be a primary meditation practice and it certainly can be so when one is struggling with sleepiness. It is a practice worth seriously working with.

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++++++++++++++++This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

There is freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning. If there were not this freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning, then escape from that which is birth, becoming, making, conditioning, would not be known here. -- Ud 80

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine.People live in one another’s shelter.

From my own experience, walking meditation takes just as much effort and practice as sitting meditation - you probably won't get much benefit out of it if you don't at least do a little bit every day. Doing a small session before you sit is a great way to calm the mind and get it ready for the more intense concentration of traditional on-the-cushion meditation..

Gain and loss, status and disgrace, censure and praise, pleasure and pain:these conditions among human beings are inconstant,impermanent, subject to change.

Balance is definitely ideal. But it can be harder to find a quiet place to do walking meditation than it is to do sitting meditation in one's own home. That's my problem, I live 350 feet from the freeway in southern california and I'm in a dense suburb so there isn't any area I can go to that's secluded. But if you have a place to do walking meditation you should do it. Besides, it's healthy for your body as well as your mind.

"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."

If one does not have a long path on which to do walking practice, one can do it on a very short path and inside. In that case it would be a matter of slowing down the walking. This is something one can experiment with, trying different ways to see what works.

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++++++++++++++++This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

There is freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning. If there were not this freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning, then escape from that which is birth, becoming, making, conditioning, would not be known here. -- Ud 80

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine.People live in one another’s shelter.

tiltbillings wrote:If one does not have a long path on which to do walking practice, one can do it on a very short path and inside. In that case it would be a matter of slowing down the walking. This is something one can experiment with, trying different ways to see what works.

Thanks for the tip Tilt, I'll start doing that.

"I don't envision a single thing that, when developed & cultivated, leads to such great benefit as the mind. The mind, when developed & cultivated, leads to great benefit."

"I don't envision a single thing that, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about such suffering & stress as the mind. The mind, when undeveloped & uncultivated, brings about suffering & stress."

tiltbillings wrote:If one does not have a long path on which to do walking practice, one can do it on a very short path and inside. In that case it would be a matter of slowing down the walking. This is something one can experiment with, trying different ways to see what works.

Or a circle/semi-circle, if you have an open space in your living room or bedroom.

Gain and loss, status and disgrace, censure and praise, pleasure and pain:these conditions among human beings are inconstant,impermanent, subject to change.

tiltbillings wrote:If one does not have a long path on which to do walking practice, one can do it on a very short path and inside. In that case it would be a matter of slowing down the walking. This is something one can experiment with, trying different ways to see what works.

Thanks for the tip Tilt, I'll start doing that.

You are welcome. Walking meditation kind of gets neglected. It is a bit of work/time to get a sense of what walking meditation is about, but it is worth the effort.

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++++++++++++++++This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

There is freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning. If there were not this freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning, then escape from that which is birth, becoming, making, conditioning, would not be known here. -- Ud 80

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine.People live in one another’s shelter.

tiltbillings wrote:If one does not have a long path on which to do walking practice, one can do it on a very short path and inside. In that case it would be a matter of slowing down the walking. This is something one can experiment with, trying different ways to see what works.

Or a circle/semi-circle, if you have an open space in your living room or bedroom.

Yes.

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++++++++++++++++This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

There is freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning. If there were not this freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning, then escape from that which is birth, becoming, making, conditioning, would not be known here. -- Ud 80

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine.People live in one another’s shelter.

Heard a story that Ananda reached enlightenment while doing walking meditation... This could be totally false, dont know how legit the source is....but still its nice to see some others find this practice very important and practical!

may all be well

"whatever one frequently thinks and ponders upon will be the inclination of one's mind"

lol sorry i wasnt clear - im not asking if to do walking meditation i have no doubt its good -

just that in the mahasi sayadaw technique - if i understand correctly they say you should balance the walking with sitting - so i ask except from how important is the balancing if someone cant walk how does it work for him and if i can do more walking than sitting (or more sitting) should i do more walking on the expense of balancing ?

this question i guess is for whoever heared about the need for balancing

Please send merit to my dog named Mika who has passed away - thanks in advance

Q12: Venerable Sir, what is the purpose for the rotation of one­hour sitting and one­hour walking in practice? Mahasi Sayadaw: Too much walking tends to arouse more energy (viriya) but less concentration (samadhi). So one is scheduled to sit and walk alternately an hour each. Thus, the balance can be kept between concentration and energy.

Note that that is in a retreat environment where you are practicing a long time. If you have less time, often people will walk less, sit more. Sitting too long is just not good for the body. There is working with pain, but you don't want to injure yourself. Certainly teachers will suggest sitting for longer periods if trying more to deepen concentration. And if your energy/effort seems week try walking.

Samma wrote:Note that that is in a retreat environment where you are practicing a long time.

What is worth noting is that retreat instructions are not necessarily optimal for daily life practice. With walking meditation one can experiment to find what works. And because walking meditation is an active physical activity, it can be a very good way of cultivating concentration and mindfulness that can be a good carry-over into one's daily activities.

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++++++++++++++++This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

There is freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning. If there were not this freedom from birth, freedom from becoming, freedom from making, freedom from conditioning, then escape from that which is birth, becoming, making, conditioning, would not be known here. -- Ud 80

Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireas na daoine.People live in one another’s shelter.

tiltbillings wrote:With walking meditation one can experiment to find what works. And because walking meditation is an active physical activity, it can be a very good way of cultivating concentration and mindfulness that can be a good carry-over into one's daily activities.

Yes, yes. I'll be honest... I didn't cultivate walking meditation regularly until recently. I can't say exactly why I was reluctant to do it in the past - maybe I got too comfortable (caught in conceit, even) with sitting, maybe I thought that walking meditation wasn't as 'deep' (however one measures that for oneself), maybe I thought walking was a 'cop out'. But if anyone is ambivalent about walking meditation and/or is curious - I'd say give it a go, especially if you are working in a desk job. Experiment with it for a week or so; around 30 minutes a day. Then see how you feel about it.